You've got a friend in me
by 7thheavengirl08
Summary: When Hawkeye finds out that he is going blind, he's going to need his friends. Will they be there for him? Chapters 4, 5, & 6 finally up! This story is now complete! Hawkeye/Margaret pairing.
1. The bad news

A/N: Please be kind as this is my first M.A.S.H fanfic. R & R

Disclaimer: I own no part of M.A.S.H. If I did, do you really think I'd be writing on here?

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Hawkeye Pierce stood up. "Finally," he thought to himself, "I thought that last patient would never leave." He started walking towards the door, but then he stopped. There were dark spots on the edge of his vision. He rubbed his eyes to try and make them go away, but they stayed there. Finally, after about a minute, they went away. He walked to the door and thought, "That's strange. I must be more tired than I thought."

That night, as Hawkeye was getting ready for bed, the spots came back. "I must really be tired," he said to himself. He shrugged his shoulders and got in bed.

The next morning, when Hawkeye woke up, the spots were still there. No matter how hard he rubbed his eyes, they wouldn't go away. He got ready for work and ate breakfast, hoping that the spots would just go away, but they were still there when he left for work. "They'll go away sooner or later," Hawkeye kept thinking. But they didn't.

It had been almost two weeks since Hawkeye had first noted the spots, and they hadn't gone away. In fact, they'd started to get worse. Hawkeye kept going about his normal routine, trying to ignore them and hoping that they'd just go away on their own. Ever since a stove had exploded in His face and blinded him in Korea, he'd hated eye doctors. His excuse for not going was that he didn't need to; there was nothing wrong with his eyes. Now that there really was something wrong with his eyes, his excuse was, "They'll go away eventually. No need to go to the doctor over something so minor. Anyways, I'm too busy at the clinic."

Hawkeye's Dad had died almost three years ago, and Hawkeye had taken on his dad's patients as well as keeping his own patients. That had made him so busy that he had to extend the clinic hours. Sometimes, when emergencies came up, he wouldn't get home until after midnight. He was also pretty much on call twenty-four hours a day, which made it very hard to get a good night's sleep. Even on his days off, Saturday and Sunday, he wasn't really off because people would still call him if they had a problem, and Hawkeye couldn't stand the thought of turning anyone away. That was one of the bad parts about being the only doctor in Crabapple Cove.

Not only was Hawkeye the only doctor, but there was no nurse either. He and his dad hadn't seen a need for it with both of them there, and now that his dad was gone, Hawkeye just didn't have time to find one. He had tried a couple different times, but most of the interviews he set up ended up having to be canceled because of an emergency. Those few interviews that didn't get canceled, the nurses just didn't seem qualified, or they wanted more pay, or they objected to the clinic's hours and said that he should see fewer patients. Hawkeye had finally given up but now he was once again considering getting.

The spots on Hawkeye's eyes weren't getting any better. They were getting worse. It had been almost two months since Hawkeye had first noted them, and now they weren't just on the edges of his vision, they were all over. They had gotten to the point that they were starting to interfere with his work. He had told his receptionist, an older lady named Mrs. Peters, to not make any appointments for the next week, to tell people that he was taking a week off, and to call him if it was an emergency. He was hoping that maybe the problem would start to get better if he rested his eyes more. He wasn't taking the week totally off, though. He was planning to interview nurses. He hoped that a nurse would help lighten his load a little.

The first nursing candidate had arrived. She was an older lady, plump, and looked sort of grandmotherly. "How long have you been a nurse?" asked Hawkeye. "That, young man, is none of your business! How rude!" she replied in a nasally voice as she stalked out of the house. Hawkeye sighed. "Well, there's one name I can cross off the list.

The next candidate arrived. She was young, skinny, and beautiful. "Well, hopefully this one will go better." Hawkeye thought to himself. He started with the same question and she replied that this would be her first job. "Well, she's inexperienced, but at least she's not set in her ways." he thought. As the interview went on though, Hawkeye could tell that she was a bit too inexperienced for his busy clinic.

The rest of the candidates weren't right for the job either. Some were too set in their ways, others were too inexperienced, and one had the worst bedside manner he'd ever scene. "Man, her bedside manners are even worse than Frank's." Hawkeye said after she left. He had interviewed six nurses today, and none of them had worked out. He had more interviews tomorrow, but after today he wasn't looking forward to them. Hawkeye stretched and started to stand up, but had to stop. The spots on his vision were so bad at times now that he could hardly see. "I don't need this right now!" Hawkeye yelled out in frustration. He was just glad it hadn't happened while he was with a patient.

The next day the parade of nurses started all over again. Once again, none of them were right for the job. "Well, there goes my last hope for finding a nurse," he said after the last candidate had left. Just then he heard a knock. He started towards the door, but had to stop when he could hardly see because of the spots on his vision. The knock came again, this time more insistent. "I'm coming!" he yelled as he started towards the door once again. "Who in the world could it be?" he wondered. He tried to remember if maybe there was someone scheduled for an interview that he had forgotten about.

Just as Hawkeye got to the door, whoever was knocking stepped off the porch and started walking down the driveway. "Wait," he called out. The person turned around. Hawkeye stared in shock, and then rubbed his eyes thinking that maybe the spots were causing him to see things.

"Margaret?" he exclaimed. When she nodded he asked, "What are you doing here? Last I heard you were at some big hospital in charge of the nursing staff."

"Well, I decided that I needed a break. I've been wanting to visit some of my friends from Korea, and this just seemed like the place to start." she replied. "I hope you don't mind. I meant to write or call, but every time I tried I got interrupted."

"Of course I don't mind. As a matter of fact maybe you can give me some advice." They started walking into the house.

"What kind of advice would you want from me?" When Hawkeye didn't answer, she stopped. He had stopped and was rubbing at his eyes and blinking them rapidly. "Hawkeye? Are you okay?"

This was the last thing Hawkeye had wanted Margret to see. He had tried to keep going, but for a moment he couldn't see at all. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just been having a little trouble with my eyes, that's all."

Margaret was concerned. "What kind of trouble?"

"Nothing major. No need to concern you with my problems."

Margaret put her hands on her hips. She could tell Hawkeye was trying to get her off the subject, so she knew something must be really wrong. "Hawkeye, I'm not going to give up until you tell me. What kind of trouble."

Hawkeye sighed. He knew there was no use in trying to fight with her over this. "A few months ago I started getting spots on my vision. They were just minor at first, on the very edges of my vision, but they've started to get a little bit worse. It's okay, though. Nothing major."

Margaret could tell Hawkeye wasn't telling the complete truth. "Hawkeye?" she said gently. When he looked at her she went on. "It's a lot worse now, isn't it?" When Hawkeye started to shake his head, Margaret said, "Don't you lie to me, Hawkeye Pierce! I lived with you long enough to know you're not telling the truth."

Hawkeye knew he had been beaten. "Yes, it's a lot worse. In the last couple of weeks there have been times when it was so bad I couldn't see.

"Like just a minute ago when you stopped?" Margaret pressed gently.

"Yes, like just a minute ago when I stopped."

"Hawkeye, you need to see an eye doctor."

"I know. I also know that I hate eye doctors. It's probably nothing major and will go away if I give it some time."

"NO. I'm not going to let you give it some time. AS a matter of fact, you and I are going to the eye doctor right now."

"But you don't even know where an eye doctor is. We don't even have one here in Crabapple Cove."

"You're going to tell me where the eye doctor is. I don't care how far we have to drive; you are seeing the doctor today."

Hawkeye knew he had been beaten, so he went and got in Margaret's car and gave her directions.

When they pulled in the parking lot of the eye doctor, Hawkeye whined, "Margaret, do I really have to go today? After all, you just got here. I don't want to ruin your visit."

"Yes, you have to go today. I f you don't go today you'll just keep putting it off. And it won't ruin my visit. What would ruin my visit is sitting around worrying about you." Margaret had a stern look on her face.

"Really? You'd worry about me?"

"Oh, Hawk, you know I would." Margaret's expression softened. "Come on; let's see if they can get you in to see the doctor today."

Once they got inside, they found out that Hawkeye could, indeed see the eye doctor. As a matter of fact, he didn't have any appointment for another hour, so after they explained the situation to the doctor, he agreed to take a look at Hawkeye's eyes.

Hawkeye and the doctor went into the exam room while Margaret waited outside. After taking a look at Hawkeye's eyes, the doctor asked him some questions.

"What is your occupation?" was the doctor's first question.

"I'm a doctor." replied Hawkeye.

"Have you ever had an injury to your eyes?"

"Yeah. I had a stove blow up in my face. I became temporarily blind, so the optometrist bandaged my eyes. When the bandages came off, my eyesight was back to normal."

"How long ago was this?"

"About six years."

"Do you remember who the doctor was that treated you?"

"No. It's probably in my Army records. I could look it up for you."

"You were in the Army when this happened?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I was in Korea at the time."

"Hmm." was all the doctor said. After a few minutes he asked one more question. "I believe that you mentioned you knew the lady who brought you, Margaret, from the Army?"

"Yes."

"Was she in Korea with you when this happened?"

"Yes."

"I'd like to speak to her." The doctor got up and went out to the waiting room. In a few minutes he returned with Margaret.

"I understand you were in Korea with Dr. Pierce when his eyes were injured. Is this correct?"

"Yes, it is. I assisted in his treatment when he was first injured." Margaret replied

The eye doctor went on to ask Margaret several questions about the treatment and the extent of the injury. When he had finished, he turned to Hawkeye. "I'd like to take a look at your eyes again, Dr. Pierce."

As Margaret got up to return to the waiting room, the doctor asked her to stay in case he had any further questions. Once the doctor was done examining Hawkeye's eyes for the second time, he led Hawkeye into his office.

"Do you mind if Margaret comes in here with me?" Hawkeye asked.

"No, not at all."

Once Margaret was in the office with them, the doctor began. "Dr. Pierce, after examining your eyes I believe I know why your having these problems with your vision. I believe that it is a result of the injury they sustained in the explosion you told me about."

"But how can that be? The blindness only lasted for a few weeks, and until recently I hadn't had any problems." Hawkeye wondered

"I'm not quite sure why it's your just now having problems. It could be that your eyes were weakened in the explosion, and they've continues to get weaker over the years. Until recently, the weakness hadn't affected your vision because it hadn't been substantial enough."

"So what can you do about it?" Hawkeye asked.

"That's the thing. I can't do anything about it. I'm afraid you're going blind, Dr. Pierce."

"What?! That can't be. I can't go blind! You see, I'm a doctor. I need my eyesight. I can't very well be a doctor if I can't see!"

Margaret laid a hand on Hawkeye's arm. "Hawkeye, you need to settle down. Listen to what the doctor has to say. Getting upset isn't going to help anything."

Hawkeye settled down and tried to listen to the doctor, but he just kept hearing _"I'm afraid you're going blind. " _over and over again in his head.

Once the doctor had finished talking to them, Margaret and Hawkeye walked out to Margaret's car. "Hawkeye, are you okay?" Margaret asked as they drove back to Hawkeye's house.

"Okay? Okay?! How can I be okay! I'm going blind, Margaret! I'm going blind!" Hawkeye put his head in his hands and broke down crying.

Margaret pulled over to the side of the road, got out, and went around to Hawkeye's side of the car. She opened up his door and gently took him into her arms. "Oh Hawkeye, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry you're going blind, I'm sorry the explosion happened, I'm sorry I made you go to the eye doctor, I'm sorry about everything." Margaret broke down crying herself.

Hawkeye lifted his head and looked at Margaret. "Margaret, you have nothing to be sorry about. To tell you the truth, I can't think of anyone I'd rather have had with me when I found out. If it hadn't been for you making me go, I'd still go blind, only I wouldn't know what was happening to me. Thank you, Margaret. Oh, and about your list of sorrys, I hope that you're not sorry you met me."

"Hawkeye, I could never be sorry that I met you. Everything that you just said means so much to me. If there's anything I can do to make this easier on you, just let me know."

"Well, there is one thing. But I'd rather discuss it at my house, not on the side of the road." Margaret took the hint and went back to the driver's side. Once they got back to Hawkeye's house, they went into the living room and sat down.

"I've been looking for a nurse to help me with my practice. Since the doctor said it could be up to a year before I go blind, I plan to continue until my vision gets bad enough that it affects my work. If you know of a good nurse looking for a position on a small town, send her to me, will you?" Hawkeye said.

Margaret smiled. "I can do even better than that. I know a nurse looking for a fresh start. She's mentioned wanting to work in a small town before. I highly recommend her."

"Really? What's her name? Send her my way. I'll gladly give her a job if you recommend her."

"Well, her name is Margaret Houlihan. She was a nurse in the Korean War; as a matter of fact she worked in a M.A.S.H. unit."

"You? Margaret, are you sure? I don't want you to do this just because you feel sorry for me."

"I'm very sure. I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather work. I quit my job about a month ago. That's part of the reason I came to visit you first. Colonel Potter said that you've been swamped with work since your dad died. He told me about your search for a nurse, and it sounded much more appealing than staying in a big, bustling city hospital. I've tired of city life. You always talked so highly about small town life and Crabapple Cove in Korea, so I decided to see if everything you were saying was true. I thought about calling and asking for an interview, but it just seemed too awkward."

"Will you stop talking so I can tell something? There's no one that I'd rather have for a nurse than you, Margaret. If you really want the job, then you're hired."

"Is there a hotel or bed and breakfast I can stay at until I find a house?"

"No. We're too small of a town to have anything. You're welcome to stay here, if you'd like."

"Hawkeye, that wouldn't be decent. Me, your new nurse, living here?"

"Sure, why not?" Hawkeye smiled to let Margaret know he was just joking.

"Oh, Pierce, you never change!"

"Pierce? I haven't been called by my last name since I left Korea."

"I'm sorry. I guess it's hard to break old habits."

"That's okay, I really don't mind. It reminds me of all the good times I had with all of you there in Korea."

"While we're on the subject of Korea, you really should call B.J. and Colonel Potter to let them know what's going on. I know that they'll be upset if you don't tell them."

"Margaret, I really don't think I can stand to tell anyone right now. As much as I'd love to see everyone again before I go blind, I don't want everyone feeling sorry for me.

"Oh, come on Hawkeye. You know everyone better than that. They'd be concerned, but they wouldn't pity you."

"You're probably right. No, you are right. I'll call B.J. and Potter as soon as we get done talking. As a matter of fact, I'm going to find a doctor to take over my clinic now and go around to visit everyone before it's too late. That leaves my house free for you to stay in until you find a place."

"Hawkeye, I was only planning on staying until you had to stop working. Then I would have worked for the doctor replacing you, found another nursing job elsewhere, or stayed here."

"Well, I guess we have a problem, then. What if I stay on as doctor for another six months, and I still bring the new doctor in. That way you get used to working with him so you can make your decision, and he can get to know the people before he has to take over."

"Hawkeye, who do you all plan on seeing on your trip?"

"Colonel Potter, of course, B.J., Charles, Radar, Klinger and Soon Lee, some of the nurses, Father Mulchahy, and Sidney. Why?"

"Well, I don't think you should stick around for six months. That only gives you at the most six months to see everyone, and that's not even guaranteed. Besides, I know that if I were in your position, I would want to see everyone before my vision got too bad. Even though the doctor said it could be up to a year before you went completely blind, your vision is going to get much worse before that. I don't want you to have to shorten your trip because of me."

"I suppose your right. If I do that, I have just one requirement of you."

"What's that?"

"That you come along with me."

"But Hawkeye, why would you want me along on your trip?"

"Well, Margaret, it's kind of necessary for someone to come with me on my trip, because, as you know, this problem with my eyes is just going to get progressively worse, so before the trip is over I won't be able to see well enough to drive. It makes sense for someone with medical experience to come along. I'll pay you, of course. You were planning on working for me anyways, so what's the difference?"

"What's the difference? Hawkeye, are you joking?" Margaret exclaimed. "We'd be in a car together, you know, close quarters. We had a hard enough time getting along in Korea. I can't even imagine what would happen if we rode in a car together."

"Margaret, you know as well as I do that our hostility towards each other ended that night that we spent behind enemy lines in that abandoned hut. You're just trying to make up excuses. Why?"

Margaret got a sad look on her face. "Hawkeye, I'm not sure I can stand to watch you go blind little by little. It was bad enough when that explosion in Korea happened and you went blind for just a short period of time, I would have never admitted it then, but I was worried about you. I was scared you would never see again."

Hawkeye put his arm around Margaret. "Margaret, please. It would mean so much to me to have you there with me. I don't think I can handle going blind by myself. I'm scared, Margaret. I love my job, and I love being able to see. You don't know how hard I prayed when I got those bandages taken off in Korea that nothing like that would happen to me again. Please, will you go with me? You'll be able to see all our old friends, too. I know that you want to do that."

Margaret looked at Hawkeye. "Hawkeye Pierce, you are one hard man to say no to. As a matter of fact, I can't say no to you. Not after the way you put it. I'll go with you. But don't you go trying anything, Pierce." she joked.


	2. Seeing Charles

A/N: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I was trying to finish up my 7th heaven story, so I put this one on hold. Well, I finally finished the 7th heaven story, so expect more chapters soon!

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of MASH or the characters in the tv series. The only thing that I own are this story line and the characters I made up.

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Hawkeye looked out the window. The new doctor, Jason Brown, was supposed to arrive any time now. In some ways he was looking forward to handing over the practice, in other ways it was a little sad. He had planned on working in the clinic as a doctor until he retired. He and his dad had always talked about letting another doctor in, but they had both decided they wanted to keep it in the family. Now that wasn't going to happen. Hawkeye looked up and whispered, "I'm sorry, Dad." Just then a car pulled in the driveway. The new doctor had arrived.

Hawkeye went out to great Jason. He was relatively young, but Hawkeye had interviewed him and was sure he was experienced enough. He had just seemed like the right person for the job. He even had a wife who was a nurse, which made him all the better for the job. Hawkeye had the doctor work in the clinic with him for a week, and he had done well with the people. They all surprised Hawkeye at how quickly they took to their new doctor.

"Hi, Dr. Pierce. This is my wife, Molly." Jason said while motioning to the beautiful woman standing beside him. "Are you ready for us to move in now, or should we find somewhere else to stay for a little while. Hawkeye had agreed to let the couple stay at his house they found a place of their own. "No, it's all ready for you to move right in. Margaret and I will be leaving tomorrow morning, so you'll have company tonight, but tomorrow you'll have the house all to yourself."

"That's fine. Thanks again for letting us stay in your house."

"It's not a problem. This way I don't have to worry about getting someone to watch it while I'm gone."

"Is there a lot of robberies here?" That question came from Molly, who had a worried look on her face. "I thought small towns didn't usually have a high crime rate."

"No, there aren't a lot of robberies here. In fact the last major crime I can think of involved the theft of a child's doll. The culprit turned out to be a dog."

Everyone laughed at that. "The only reason I'd get someone to watch the house is to make sure that nothing gets damaged if we have a storm or something like that and to make sure it's kept in good repair." Hawkeye continued.

Molly looked relieved. "Well, if the dog was the culprit in the last major crime you had here, I guess I don't have to worry about robberies." They went inside, where Molly met Margaret, and, after a few hours of talking, everyone turned in for the night.

Early the next morning, Hawkeye and Margaret left for their first stop on the trip, to visit Charles Emerson Winchester, III. He was still working in Boston at the hospital Margaret had gotten him a job at. On the drive there, Margaret and Hawkeye talked about Korea.

"Do you know what ever happened to Frank?" Hawkeye asked Margaret.

"As far as I know, he stayed in Tokyo until the end of the war, at which time he went home to his wife. I haven't seen or talked to him since he left the 4077th."

"Really? You haven't?' Hawkeye was surprised. "You two were so close in Korea I just thought that maybe you'd kept in contact with him."

"No, and I have no desire to ever see him again. I regret what I did in Korea. Frank was a married man, and I almost caused his marriage to fall apart. I would never wish that upon anyone now that I know how it feels." Margaret was referring to her failed marriage to Donald Penobscot. "Have you kept in touch with Trapper?"

That was a sore spot for Hawkeye. "No, and I don't wish to see him again. What he did to me was unforgivable. How could he leave without so much as a goodbye? I thought that we were friends."

"And I thought you had gotten over this." said Margaret. "How long are you going to hold a grudge against a man because he didn't leave you a note when he was sent home?"

"Margaret, he hasn't even attempted to contact me. If he were sorry for not being able to tell me goodbye, he would have at least dropped me a note in the mail. He knows where I live." Hawkeye was starting to get upset.

Margaret thought it better to drop the subject rather than risk getting Hawkeye any more upset. "Look, we're almost there!" she said, excitedly. "Did you call Charles to let him know we were coming?"

"No, I didn't. As a matter of fact, I didn't call anyone. I wanted to surprise them all."

"Did you at least call Colonel Potter or B.J. like I suggested?"

"I thought about it, Margaret, I really did. But then I realized I had no idea what to say to them. 'Hi, Colonel Potter, this is Hawkeye. I'm going blind.' just didn't seem right."

"I guess you're right. It would be kind of awkward." They pulled up to the hospital where Charles worked. "Well, we're here. Are you ready?" she asked.

"I don't think I'll ever be ready. Charles and I may not have been close, but we were still friends. How do you tell a friend that you're going blind?"

Margaret didn't have an answer to that question. "Come on; let's see if we can find Charles."

Hawkeye and Margaret walked inside the hospital and went up to a nurse. "Excuse me." said Hawkeye.

"Can I help you?" asked the nurse.

"Yes, we're looking for a Dr. Charles Emerson Winchester III. Do you happen to know where he is?" Hawkeye asked.

"Yes, I do. I'll take you to his office and then let him know that you're here." The nurse led them to a very plush office, then left to find Charles. "Excuse me, Dr. Winchester?" the nurse asked tentatively.

"What is it?" he asked rather curtly. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Dr. Winchester, there's some people here to see you, sir. There waiting in your office."

"Who is it?"

"I don't know, Doctor. It's a man and a woman."

"Alright. I'll go see what they want. Now get back to work." Charles walked towards his office, wondering all the while who it could be. When he got to his office, he opened the door and was pleasantly surprised by who he saw. "Margaret? Pierce? To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"Can't we pay an old army friend a visit?" asked Hawkeye.

"Certainly, but since this is the first visit that either of you have paid me in the five years since that dreadful war ended, I must assume that you want something from me, or that something is wrong."

"Why Charles, I can't believe that you would think so little of us." Hawkeye said, sarcastically. The he turned serious. "Actually, there is a reason for this visit. Something is wrong."

"Oh, really? And what would that be?" inquired Charles, trying not to act to concerned.

"I'm going blind." Hawkeye stated matter-of-factly

"What?" Charles exclaimed. "You must be joking! You, Hawkeye Pierce, going blind? It can't be true!"

"It's true. I found out about a month ago, when Margaret here insisted I go to the eye doctor."

Now Charles looked confused. "Did I miss something? Why would Margaret insist that you see an eye doctor? You two aren't married, are you?"

Hawkeye and Margaret looked at each other and then burst out laughing. "No, Charles, we're not married." Margaret managed to get out.

"Then why on earth would you insist that Pierce see an eye doctor?"

"Colonel Potter had told me that Hawkeye was looking for a nurse, and I was tired of big city life, so I decided to go apply for the position. When I got there, Hawkeye was having problems with his eyes. When I finally got him to admit that there was something wrong, I convinced him to go see an eye doctor. The doctor told him that he was going blind." Margaret explained/

"But why? Your eyesight has always been perfectly healthy, hasn't it, Pierce?"

"Well, for the most part, yes. There was one time before you came, however, where it wasn't so healthy. I was fixing a stove in the nurses' tent, and it exploded in my face. I was temporarily blinded by the explosion. The doctor said that my blindness is more than likely being caused by the muscles in my eyes being weakened by the explosion." Hawkeye replied.

"I am very sorry, Pierce. Have you gotten a second opinion? We do have some of the best eye doctors in the country here at this hospital, you know."

"No, I haven't gotten a second opinion, but I don't need one. The eye doctor that I saw was not just some small town doctor. He's one of the best, Dr. Steven Johnson. Perhaps you've heard of him."

"I have, indeed, but I'd still like you to get a second opinion. As a matter of fact, I have a meeting with the very best eye doctor that we have hear at this hospital in about fifteen minutes. "Charles said, looking at his watch. "I'd like you to come with me. He can examine you, and maybe he'll have different results for you."

Hawkeye agreed, so Charles led Hawkeye and Margaret to the eye doctor's office. "Excuse me, Dr. Moore?"

Dr. Moore looked up from the paperwork he had been working on. When he saw Charles, he looked at his clock. "Are you early, or did I just get the time wrong?" he asked.

"I'm early. I have a favor to ask of you." Charles replied.

Dr. Moore looked surprised. Everyone knew that Dr. Winchester asked for favors from no one. "What is it?"

"I have a friend with me. His name is Dr. Benjamin Pierce. He worked with me in a M.A.S.H. He recently started having trouble with eyes, so he went to see an eye doctor. At that visit, he was told he was going blind and nothing could be done. If you could, I'd like you to give him a second opinion."

"Certainly. Right this way, Dr. Pierce." Dr. Moore led Hawkeye to his examining room. When the Doctor had finished examining Hawkeye, he asked him many of the same questions that Dr. Johnson had asked. When he was finished, he said, "I'm very sorry, Dr. Pierce, but I'm afraid that Dr. Johnson's diagnosis was correct. You are going blind, and there's nothing we can do. However, the blindness does appear to be progressing much faster then Dr. Johnson thought it would. I'd give you three more months, at best, before you are completely blind. I must warn you, though, by the end of the second month, you will probably have lost most of your vision. I am very sorry."

Hawkeye stood up and shook Dr. Moore's hand. "Thank you for being willing to see me on such short notice. I kind of figured that the diagnoses wouldn't be any different, but Charles insisted on a second opinion."

When Hawkeye came out of the treatment room, Charles and Margaret immediately started asking questions. "What did he say?" "Is the diagnoses any different?" "Is there any treatment?" "How much longer?"

Hawkeye held up his hands to stop the questions. "I'll tell you what the doctor said if you'll give me the chance." he complained. Margaret and Charles both immediately went silent. "Okay. Dr. Moore said the same thing as Doctor Johnson. Yes, I will go blind. The only thing he said that was different is that he only gave me three months before I'm completely blind. He said that this is because it's progressing much faster than Dr. Johnson had thought."

"Is there no treatment available to keep you from going blind?" Charles was genuinely concerned.

"No, there isn't. Dr. Johnson checked with some of his colleagues, and none of them knew of any kind of treatment for this, and neither does Dr. Moore."

"But what of your practice? Have you given it up?"

"Not very many people want a blind doctor, Charles." Hawkeye said, annoyed.

"I am sorry. That was a stupid question for me to ask." Charles looked at his watch. "Why don't we go get something to eat? We can talk more once we're at the restaurant."

Once the three of them had chosen a restaurant and ordered their food, Hawkeye started telling Charles about his plans. "I want to see all of the people that I was close over in Korea before I go completely blind. Margaret is coming with me to drive and to help me once my eyesight gets worse."

"How bad is it now?" Charles wanted to know.

"Well, as long as I'm close to a person, I can still make out their features, but everything is growing darker and more blurry by the day. Dr. Moore said that by the end of two months, I will have lost most of my vision. I'm already having short, frequent periods of total blindness."

That news surprised Margaret as well as Charles. She knew that he had been having periods of total blindness, but she had no idea that they were frequent. "How often are they happening, Hawkeye?" she asked.

"I get at least two a day. It varies."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded. "How am I supposed to help you if you don't let me know what's going on?"

"Well, Margaret, I figured that you'd be having to take care of me soon enough, Why rush things?" Hawkeye said, bitterly. "If you two will excuse me, I'm going to the restroom."

Once Hawkeye had left the table, Charles turned to Margaret in shock. "I don't believe I have ever seen him so upset." Charles said. "Usually he's one to just laugh it off or joke about it."

Margaret sighed. "I know. It really has me worried, Charles. This isn't like the Hawkeye that I know. He's taking it so hard. He's scared. It's all happening so fast, faster than the doctor expected. To tell you the truth, I don't think he's going to be able to see everyone he wants to before he goes completely blind, and I think he knows it too. I think that's why he's taking all this so hard. It devastates him to think that he'll never be able to see his friends' faces again. He loves all of his friends so much."

Charles looked thoughtful. "I have an idea that may help with that," he said.

"Really? What is it?" Margaret asked excitedly. "It would mean so much to Hawkeye if he were able to see everyone one last time."

Hawkeye came back then, forcing Margaret and Charles to postpone the rest of their conversation. "So, Charles, how do you like it here in Boston?"

"Fine, just fine. As a matter of fact, I've been meaning to contact you with some very interesting news. There's another surgeon here that worked in a M.A.S.H unit in Korea."

"Really?" Hawkeye looked interested. "What unit did he serve with?"

"That's the most interesting part. He served with the 4077th."

Hawkeye groaned inwardly. There were only two people it could be, Frank Burns or Trapper McIntyre, and he really wasn't interested in seeing either of them again.

"When I told him that I, too, had worked in the same M.A.S.H unit, he asked about you, and Margaret, and another person whose name I can't remember."

"What is the surgeon's name?" Margaret asked.

"He calls himself Trapper, but his name is John McIntyre." Charles replied.

Margaret glanced over at Hawkeye who had stopped eating as soon as he heard the name. "Say that again, Charles?" he asked.

Charles looked confused. "His name is 'Trapper' John McIntyre." he repeated.

Hawkeye sighed. "Are you absolutely positive?"

Now Charles looked really confused. "Of course I'm positive, Pierce." he said, sounding insulted that Hawkeye would even consider asking such a question.

When Hawkeye didn't say anything, Margaret spoke up. "Listen, Charles, Hawkeye's tired. It was a long trip here. How about Hawkeye and I go back to the hotel for the night. We can meet again tomorrow for breakfast."

"Sure, that's fine. I'll meet you two at your hotel around 9:00 tomorrow morning."

"Okay, Charles that sounds good. We'll see you then. Come on, Hawkeye." Margaret said.

Once Margaret and Hawkeye were outside, Hawkeye said, 'Well, I guess I have to see him now, don't I? Charles has probably already told him that we're in town."

Margaret helped Hawkeye get in the car, went around and got in on the driver's side, and drove back to the hotel without saying a word. When they pulled into the hotel parking lot, she said, "You know, Hawkeye, maybe it's good that you have to see him. Maybe you'll finally forgive him for going home."

"I'm not mad at him for going home, Margaret. I mad at him for going home without saying goodbye."

"Oh, yes you are. Him not saying goodbye is just a cover-up. You're mad at him because he got to go home while you had to stay in Korea. But Hawkeye, what if Trapper hadn't been sent home, or what if you had been sent home instead? Think about it. You wouldn't have met B.J., Colonel Potter, or Charles. You became close friends with two of those people, and even though neither of you would admit it, you and Charles even became pretty good friends. If you had gone home, I wouldn't have been able to make it through my divorce from Donald. You were what kept me sane then, Hawkeye Pierce. I came very close to requesting a transfer at that time. You were the only person stopping me from doing that. If you hadn't of been there, I would have transferred out of the 4077th."

Hawkeye turned towards Margaret. "You're right. I was mad at Trapper for going home, not just for failing to tell me goodbye. When you put it the way that you did, it really made me think." Hawkeye opened his door. "Come on, let's go inside and get some sleep. I have a feeling that Charles has invited Trapper to join us for breakfast, and I definitely don't want to miss that. I mean, come on, can you imagine it? Charles and Trapper together?"

Margaret had to smile. No, she couldn't imagine it. Stuck-up, pompous Charles with a joker such as Trapper? That had to be funny. She opened her door and got out, and then she and Hawkeye went inside to their separate hotel rooms.

Once Hawkeye was inside his hotel room, he sat down in the chair that was in there and started thinking about what Margaret had said. She had said that if it hadn't been for him, she would have transferred out of the 4077th during her divorce. He hadn't realized that he'd helped her that much.

"Could she possibly feel more for me than just friendship?" he wondered out loud. "I mean, sure, there was that night that we spent together in that abandoned hut behind enemy lines, and it sure seemed like a possibility then, but when we got back to the 4077th, she was back to her normal self again. Then there was that kiss that we shared as she was leaving when the war was over, but she hasn't mentioned anything about it." He hoped that she did feel more for him than just friendship, because he had realized when he was leaving Korea that he did feel more for her than friendship. Once he had gotten back to the states, he's tried to forget about her and the way he felt, but he couldn't. In the weeks since he had found out that he was going blind, and Margaret had been helping him, those feelings had grown stronger. He was in love with Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan.


	3. Trapper John

A/N: Well, it's back! I finally finished my Emergency story, so I decided to start writing this one again. I'll try to update frequently, but I go to college full-time and work full-time, so there might be a good bit of time between chapters. Please R & R!

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Hawkeye had a restless night. Not only was he worried about seeing Trapper again, he was also worried about his newly discovered love for Margaret. Even if she did like him, which he was positive she didn't, she wouldn't want him now that he was going blind. What woman would? He had nothing to offer.

The next morning Hawkeye woke up early. He got up and got dresses very slowly. His vision was even worse today than it had ever been before. He realized for the first time that he wasn't going to be able to see everyone before he went completely blind.

Meanwhile, Margaret had met Charles and Trapper John in the lobby of the hotel, and they were discussing Charles' plan from last night. "Do you really think you can pull it off?" Margaret asked.

"Of course I can! Have I ever let you down before?" Charles answered in an offended voice.

"Well, no, I guess not, but I just don't see how you're going to pull this off." Margaret replied.

"Don't worry about a thing, Margaret. I'll make all the arrangements. All you have to do is sit back and relax."

"I'll help with anything you need help with." Trapper said.

"At least let me call Colonel Potter and BJ. Hawkeye hasn't told them yet, and I think it'd be easier on them if I were the one to tell them." Margaret insisted.

"Whatever you want, Margaret. Let them now know that I'll pay for their plane tickets out here, as well as their families, if they want them to come." Charles told her.

"Charles! You'd really do all that for Hawkeye?" Margaret asked, surprised.

"I'm not as cold and heartless as people think I am, Margaret. Of course I'd do that for Hawkeye." Charles scolded.

"I'm sorry, Charles. I didn't think before I spoke." Margaret looked at her watch and gasped. "I've got to go help Hawkeye. He's probably wondering where I am. I was supposed to have met him five minutes ago."

Margaret rushed to the elevator and, when the doors opened, got in.

As soon as the elevator doors closed, Charles turned to Trapper. "Will you come with me as soon as breakfast is over? I'd like to start working on the surprise as soon as possible."

"Sure." Trapper agreed.

Once she reached the third floor, which was the same floor their rooms were on, Margaret rushed down the hall to Hawkeye's room. When she reached the door, she knocked on it.

"Come in." Hawkeye called from inside. "It's unlocked."

Margaret opened the door and found Hawkeye sitting on the edge of the bed. "You shouldn't just let someone come in like that without knowing who it is. That's dangerous, Hawkeye."

"I knew it was you. I could tell by your footsteps." Hawkeye replied. "Don't worry; I wouldn't let just anyone come in my room like that."

"You better not. You don't know who it could be."

"Would you be worried about me?" Hawkeye asked.

"Of course I would." Margaret replied, surprised that he'd ask such a question. "I worry about you, Hawkeye." Margaret quickly changed the subject. "Come on, we should go downstairs. Charles is probably wondering where we are." Hawkeye grabbed onto Margaret's arm, and they slowly made their way to the elevator. Once they were inside, Margaret asked softly, "You're vision's getting worse, isn't it."

Hawkeye nodded. "It's getting steadily worse, Margaret." He sighed. "Margaret, I'm not going to be able to visit everyone before I go blind. It's happening too fast."

Margaret heard the sadness in his voice as well as saw it on his face. "I know, Hawkeye. I've known that for a little while now. I'm sorry. I know how much you wanted to be able to see everyone before you completely lost your sight. We can still visit people after you go blind, though."

"I know, but it won't be the same."

Before Margaret had a chance to say anything, the elevator opened to the lobby. Margaret led Hawkeye out of the elevator, then quickly took her arm away before Trapper had a chance to see that Hawkeye could no longer walk unless holding on to someone or something to guide him.

Charles and Trapper walked towards Hawkeye and Margaret as soon as they spotted them. Charles hung back a little to give Hawkeye and Trapper a chance to greet each other without an audience. Margaret, following Charles' cue, stepped back and off to the side as soon as Trapper reached Hawkeye.

"Well, Hawkeye, it's been a long time, hasn't it?" Trapper said when he reached Hawkeye.

"It sure has. " Hawkeye agreed. "Too long."

There was an awkward silence for a few moments, and then they both started talking at once. They stopped talking and Trapper said, "Let me go first, Hawkeye."

"Okay."

"I'm sorry. I should have left you a note. I just didn't know what to say or how to tell you that I was going back to the States. I mean, we'd just lost Henry, who was a good friend of both of ours', and with me leaving, you were about to lose the only other close friend that you had in Korea. I was afraid you'd be mad at me for being sent home. It wasn't right, and I know that's not a very good excuse, but it seemed good at the time. Will you forgive me, Hawk?"

"Look, Trapper, I was hurt when I came back from R & R in Tokyo and found out that I'd just missed you. To top it all off, you hadn't left a not or anything. With having just lost Henry, I was scared that something was going to happen to you too, and I'd never get a chance to say goodbye. I didn't know how to react, so I got mad. I've stayed mad for a long time, but just recently, I realized that it was wrong of me. I'm sorry. I never should have held a grudge against you for that long. Of course I forgive you."

Margaret and Charles walked up to the two friends. "Let's go eat breakfast. You two will have time to catch up later." Margaret suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Hawkeye said. Trapper nodded in agreement.

"All right then, let's go eat. Would you be so kind as to escort me to the table, Hawkeye?' Margaret asked, trying to be subtle about guiding Hawkeye to the table.

Hawkeye caught on. "Certainly." He replied, taking her arm.

Charles and Trapper walked in front of the pair to an empty table in the hotel restaurant. When the waiter brought their menus, Hawkeye realized that he wouldn't be able to read his. Trapper realized it as well, despite Hawkeye's best effort not to show it."

"Hawk, you can't see well enough to read the menu, can you?" Trapper asked.

Hawkeye shook his head. "No, I can't." Hawkeye admitted.

"How bad is your vision, Hawkeye?" Trapper asked, wanting an honest answer. Charles had told Trapper that Hawkeye's vision was getting bad and that he would eventually be blind, but he didn't tell him how bad or when he'd go blind.

"It's bad. They've only given me three more months before I'm completely blind, and that's the absolute most. Now, unless someone is really close to me, I can just barely make out their facial features. There are periods that I have of complete blindness, but they're short and infrequent right now. I'm told that they'll get longer and more frequent as my vision worsens until finally it doesn't go away."

Trapper was speechless. Now he understood why Charles and Margaret wanted to organize the surprise as quickly as possible. There wasn't a whole lot of time left until Hawkeye would go blind. After everyone had finished eating, Trapper made a suggestion. "Charles, I'm sure you have some stuff that you have to work on, and Margaret, I'm sure you'd enjoy some time to yourself, so why don't the two of you go on and Hawkeye and I will spend the day together, if that's alright with you, Hawk."

Charles, Margaret, and Hawkeye all agreed, so Trapper took Hawkeye to the lounge in the hotel and kept him busy so Margaret and Charles could plan the surprise.

As soon as Margaret got back to her room, she looked up Colonel Potter's number and called him.

"Hello?"

"Colonel Potter? This is Margaret."

"Margaret! This is a pleasant surprise. How's everything going working as Hawkeye's nurse there in Crabapple Cove?"

"That's the reason I called, Colonel." Margaret replied.

"Oh? Is something wrong? Did it not work out?"

"There is something wrong, Colonel, but it has nothing to do with that. Hawkeye's going blind, Colonel."

"What?! When did this happen?"

"Well, he first started having problems right before I went to be his nurse. When I arrived, I forced him to go to an optometrist. The report wasn't good. He gave Hawkeye only a year before he's completely blind."

"That poor boy. He must be going crazy."

"That's not the worst of it, Colonel. Hawkeye and I are in Boston. He wants to visit everyone before he goes completely blind, and he asked me to go with him. I agrees, and the first person we visited was Charles. Charles made him get a second opinion. The doctor, Dr. Steven Johnson, is one of the best in the world. He said that Hawkeye only has three months before he's totally blind, and only about two months before he's lost most of his vision."

"How's he handling it?"

"Better than I expected. At first, he got upset, but now he seems to be getting used to the fact. It's so hard to see him like this, Colonel. Knowing that he's had to give up the thing that he loves most is so hard. I can't imagine how he's feeling."

"I wish there were something I could do to help." Colonel Potter said.

"Actually, Colonel, there is something you can do. He's not going to be able to visit everyone before he loses his sight, so Charles, Trapper, and I would like to bring everyone to him. We'd like everyone to be out here by the beginning of next week, if not sooner. Don't sorry about a thing; Charles will pay for your ticket, as well as a ticket for Mrs. Potter, if she'd like to come. Just please get here as soon as possible."

"I'll be there the…wait a minute. Did you just say Trapper? Isn't he the one that left without saying goodbye to Hawkeye?"

"Yes, he is, but he and Hawkeye have made up. So you can come?"

"Yes. I'll get there tomorrow. It will just be me, not the Mrs. She doesn't feel up to traveling right now. She's just getting over a cold."

"I'm so glad you can come! I just hope everyone will be as willing as you are. It's too bad Mrs. Potter can't come as well."

"I know, I'd love for her to meet everyone, but I think it'd be a little too much for Hawkeye if he had to meet everyone's spouse and children right now."

"You're right, Colonel. I never thought about that. I'll let Charles know so he can consider that when he invites people. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Sure thing. Goodbye, Margaret."

"Goodbye, Colonel." Margaret hung up the phone. "Well, one call down, one more to go." she said to herself. After a few minutes, she picked up the phone and dialed BJ's number.

"Hunnicutt Residence, BJ speaking."

"Hi, BJ. It's Margaret."

"Margaret? How are you? It's been forever since I've heard from you!"

"I'm good, BJ. BJ, I didn't call just to talk. I called for a reason. BJ, I need to tell you something."

"What's wrong, Margaret? Are you okay?"

"It's not me, BJ. It's Hawkeye. He's going blind."

"What?!"

"It's true, BJ. He's known for a little while now. I kept telling him to call you, but he refused."

"How is it that you knew about this before I did?"

"I went to Crabapple Cove to apply for a job as a nurse at Hawkeye's clinic. When I got there, it was apparent that he was having trouble with his eyes, so I convinced him to go to an optometrist. After the optometrist examined him, he said that Hawkeye would be totally blind in a year."

"Oh, man. Poor Hawkeye. How's he handling it?"

"He's done really well. He was upset at first, but he's starting to get used to it. But that's not the worse of it, BJ. Hawkeye decided that he wanted to travel around and visit everyone from the 4077th before he became totally blind. He asked me to go with him, and I agreed. We're currently in Boston visiting Charles, our first stop. When we told Charles, he decided that Hawkeye needed a second opinion, so he got him an appointment with one of the best optometrists in the world, Dr. Steven Johnson. Dr. Johnson examined him, and then told him that he has only three months at the most before he's totally blind. He also told him that within two months, he'll have lost almost all of his sight. BJ, he's not going to be able to visit everyone before he goes blind. Charles, Trapper, and I have decided to bring everyone to him so he can see them all before he goes blind. Charles is even offering to pay for everyone's plane tickets. We'd like to have everyone here by the beginning of next week. I already talked to Colonel Potter, and he's flying in tomorrow. Can you come?"

"Of course I'll come, Margaret. I'll be there tomorrow. I do have a question first. Isn't Trapper the guy that I replaced who left without saying goodbye? The one Hawkeye was mad at for so long?"

"Yes, he is, but they've made up."

"Oh, Okay. Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. Goodbye, Margaret."

"Bye, BJ. See you tomorrow." Margaret hung up the phone and breather a sigh of relief. The two most important people, Colonel Potter and BJ, would both be there for Hawkeye.

Margaret left her hotel room and went down to the lobby to see what progress Charles had made. She looked around for him and finally spotted him sitting in a chair by the front desk. "Any luck, Charles?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Nurses Able and Kelley are both going to be able to come and they're going to contact the rest of the nurses. Father Mulchahy and Klinger are both coming as well. Radar is coming too, as well as Sidney. I think that is everyone." Charles said.

"When are they getting in?" Margaret asked.

"Nurse Kelley is getting in tomorrow morning, and so are Klinger, Radar, and Father Mulchahy. Sidney and Nurse Able are getting in tomorrow afternoon. I don't know about the other nurses yet. Nurses Kelley and Able will call me as soon as they find out. Did you get a hold of the Colonel and Hunnicut?"

"Yes, I did. They're both getting in tomorrow morning." Margaret replied.

"Good. Why don't we plan to surprise Pierce tomorrow evening? That gives everyone enough time to get settled."

"How are we going to keep Hawkeye from finding out? He's going to know something's up if I pawn him off on Trapper again tomorrow."

"Don't worry about a thing. John and I will take care of everything. You just spend tomorrow with Pierce. Keep him busy and away from the hotel if at all possible."

"I can do that. Thanks, Charles. This is going to mean a lot to Hawkeye."

Charles was flustered. "Yes, well, you'd better locate Pierce and John before they get into trouble. I will see you tomorrow evening."


	4. Talking

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I go to college full time as well as work part time, so i've been extremely busy. I now have the whole story done, so I'm going to go ahead and post the remaining two chapters as well. Enjoy, and please review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the story itself.

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Margaret sat in her room thinking about the conversation she'd had with Trapper after she had found Hawkeye and him. Hawkeye had gone back to his room to take a nap, and, after she made sure he was safely in his room, Margaret went back down to talk to Trapper.

"So, how exactly did you and Hawkeye end up traveling together? From what Hawkeye tells me, it sounds like you've been there for him since the beginning." Trapper was curious. He never would have thought that Hawkeye and Margaret would be able to stand being together any longer than they had to, much less travel together. Obviously much had changed since he had left Korea.

"Well, it's kind of a long story. I was tired of army life, so I decided not to re-enlist. Of course, the meant I was out of a job. Colonel Potter told me that Hawkeye was looking for a nurse, so I decided to apply. When I arrived, Hawkeye was only having short periods where his vision would grow dimmed and blurred, but they were growing more and more frequent. It just so happened that at the time that I arrived, Hawkeye was having one of those periods. I convinced his to see an optometrist. You already know about how Hawkeye was diagnosed, so I'll go ahead and skip that. After he found out that he was going blind, Hawkeye knew he'd have to give up his practice. He also knew that he wanted to see all of his friends from the 4077th again before he went blind, so he decided to travel around and visit them. He also knew that as his vision worsened, he wouldn't be able to travel by himself, so he asked me if I'd be willing to travel with him. I agreed, so, here we are."

"You love him, don't you?" he asked suddenly.

Margaret was shocked. She never expected Trapper to ask anything like that. "What do you mean?" she asked, flustered.

"Don't try to pretend that you don't. I know that you do. I can tell by the way that you act around him, and by the way you look at him. Come on, Margaret, tell me the truth."

Margaret sighed. "Yes, I do." she answered quietly. "I was hoping that no one would notice."

Trapper laughed. "You just invited the entire 4077th here. There's no way you'd be able to keep it a secret. I know for a fact for Colonel Potter would notice right away. Why don't you want anyone to know?"

"Trapper, I never intended to fall in love with him. I didn't even realize it until I found out that he was going blind."

"When did you fall in love with him? The last time I saw you two, you were fighting like cats and dogs."

"I'm not exactly sure. It was sometime before the end of the war. I think it started when we were trapped in that hut together when we were sent to the aid station that bugged out."

Trapper looked puzzled. "I don't remember that."

"Oh that's right. That was after you left. Hawkeye and I were sent to help at an aid station, but they bugged out before we got there because the shelling was getting a little too close. Hawkeye and I ended up having to spend the night in this little hut with shelling going on all around. At first, I didn't want him anywhere near me, but I got scared and he came over by me anyway. I fell asleep in his arms that night, Trapper. When we finally got back to the 4077th, I acted like nothing had happened. I made myself believe that, too, at least until the war was over and it came time to leave Korea. I had finished saying goodbye to everyone except for Hawkeye. When it came time to say goodbye to him, he pulled me into a hug and kissed me. I'd never had one like that before. Not from Donald, my ex-husband, not from Frank, not from anyone. I've never forgotten that kiss, Trapper. Believe me, I've tried. I just can't."

"Does he know all of this?" Trapper asked.

Margaret shook her head. "No. I'd never even think of telling him. He doesn't feel the same way about me. I know he doesn't. It's like you said, we used to fight like cats and dogs. Why would he want to marry someone that he'd just fight with all the time?"

Trapper smiled inside. This looked like a perfect matchmaking opportunity, something that he loved. He knew for certain that Hawkeye did indeed like Margaret. Hawkeye had admitted that to him this afternoon. Hawkeye didn't know, however, that Margret liked him. Hawkeye didn't think that anyone would want him now that he was going blind.

"Don't be so sure about that," he said, repeating what he had told Hawkeye this morning when Hawkeye told him there was no way Margaret liked him. "I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Hawkeye does like you. Just be careful. Hawkeye is still very insecure about going blind. He thinks that no woman would want the burden of caring for him the rest of his life." He watched Margaret intently while saying this. Her reaction would tell him how much she really loved Hawkeye.

Margaret looked shocked, then outraged. "How could he even think such a thing? Taking care of him isn't a burden at all! Why would someone ever think such a thing?"

"So she really does love him," Trapper thought to himself. He hadn't really doubted her; he'd just wanted to make sure. He didn't want to see Hawkeye or Margaret get hurt.

"Why don't you tell him how you feel about him? If you really love him, you should be honest with him." Trapper instructed.

Margaret looked terrified at first, but after she thought about it for a few minutes, she agreed. "Okay, I will. I want to wait until after the reunion, however. I don't want things to be strained between us at the reunion. That would be hard on everyone."

"Margaret, I know you. If you wait, you're going to lose your nerve. Why don't you go find him now and tell him?"

"No!" Margaret almost screamed. "I couldn't do that! What if he doesn't like me? Then everyone's going to know that something's wrong between the two of us at the reunion."

"Margaret, you two never got along in Korea. Why would people expect it to be any different now that you're back in the States?"

Margaret sighed. "You're right. I know you are. But I'm terrified, Trapper. What if he doesn't like me?"

Trapper pulled her into a hug. "Then you'll know the truth," he replied. "Isn't that better than not knowing?"

Margaret nodded. "Okay," she said. "I'll go talk to him." She pulled away from Trapper and started towards the elevator. When she got there, she reached out to press the button to go up to the floor where her and Hawkeye's rooms were, but stopped. She turned around and looked at Trapper.

He nodded at her, urging her on. "Go ahead, Margaret. You can do it."

Margaret took a deep breath, and once again reached out to touch the button. This time she pressed it. The elevator doors opened with a ding, and she got in. She turned around and caught Trapper's eye, holding it until the doors closed completely.

When the doors opened again, she was on the third floor, where her and Hawkeye's rooms were. Taking another deep breath, Margaret stepped out of the elevator and walked towards room 312, Hawkeye's room.

When she reached the room, Margaret paused, and then knocked on the door. "Come in," she heard a sleepy voice say.

Margaret opened the door and called out softly, "Hawk, it's me, Margaret."

"Come on in, Margaret." He replied.

She came in, closing the door behind her. She clasped her hands together, attempting to stop their trembling. It didn't work.

"What did I tell you about letting just anyone into your room?" she scolded, walking over to the bed and sitting down on the edge, beside where Hawkeye was lying.

"And what did I tell you? I said that I could tell when it's you. I can tell by your footsteps."

"I still wish you wouldn't do that. It's not safe."

Hawkeye sat up and reached out a hand to caress her face. "Are you worried about me?" he asked softly.

Margaret was too choked up to speak, so she just nodded instead. As hard as she tried to hold back her tears, she couldn't. A few drops ran down her face and splashed onto Hawkeye's hand.

He jerked his hand away startled, and then put it back to her face. Feeling moisture, he brought his thumb up to her eye and wiped away the tears that were forming there.

"Why are you crying, Margaret?" he asked, his voice ever so soft and gentle, the softest and gentlest Margaret had ever heard it.

Margaret shook her head. "I don't know," she whispered.

"Yes, you do." Hawkeye prodded his voice even more soft and gentle than it was before. "Tell me? Please? Is it me?" he asked, his voice cracking with emotion.

Margaret shook her head at first, and then ever so slightly she nodded.

"Is it something I did? Did I do something wrong?"

Margaret shook her head. "Oh, Hawkeye, you haven't done anything wrong," she whispered. "Not a thing!"

"Then what is it?" he prodded again, his voice still soft and gentle. "What can I do to fix it?"

"Oh, Hawkeye, it's nothing you did. In fact, I'm not really sure it was you at all. It was me!" she cried softly.

"What did you do?" he asked ever so softly.

"I fell in love with you, Benjamin. That's what I did. I fell in love with you." With that, Margaret got up and ran from the room.

Hawkeye sat on his bed in shock. She loved him? When had this happened? After a few seconds, he shook himself out of it and got up off the bed. As quickly as he could, he made his way to the door and opened it. Where had she gone? He thought for a few moments, and then made his way to her room.

Hawkeye knocked softly on Margaret's door. "Margaret?" he called softly. When he didn't get an answer, he opened the door. He knew she was in there. He could hear her. One benefit of him going blind is that his hearing had sharpened incredibly.

Hawkeye walked into the room and slowly, carefully, made his way over to her bed. When he reached it, he sat down on the edge. The room was dark, so he couldn't see exactly where she was, but he knew she was on the bed. He stretched out his hand, feeling around on the bed until his hand brushed over something soft and silky. He moved his hand back to where he'd felt it. Hair. It was Margaret's hair. He followed it up to her head.

Hawkeye sat on the edge of Margaret's bed, stroking her hair. He could feel her body shaking, so he knew she was still crying. He sat in silence for the next few minutes, trying to get his thought and feelings back under control.

Finally, he spoke. "Margaret." No answer. He tried again. "Margaret." Still no verbal answer. However, this time she moved, moving her head farther under Hawkeye's hand. He smiled. Well, that was a little bit of improvement.

He tried again. "Margaret," he said. This time, although he had tried very hard to hide his emotions, his voice cracked. "Margaret, why? Why did you fall in love with me?" he choked out. Tears started running down his face.

Margaret turned over so she could see his face. When she realized he was crying, she sat up. "I don't know, exactly. I just did. I tried not to, but it happened anyway." She paused, trying to get her thoughts organized. "I didn't want to fall in love again. I'd been hurt too many times. I couldn't stop myself. It seemed like the more I told myself that I couldn't fall in love with you, the deeper in love I fell."

Hawkeye placed his hands around her waist and pulled her into his lap. He buried his face in her hair. "Oh, Margaret, I don't deserve your love. You deserve someone better than me. I'm not good enough for you!" he cried.

"Benjamin, you are the only person I've ever truly loved. You're more than good enough for me. In fact, I'm the one that's not good enough for you. Why would you want me after the way I treated you, after the way I acted with Frank and with Donald?"

He looked up and looked into her face. "Because I love you, Margaret. That's why. I don't know when I fell in love with you, but it happened. Remember that night in the abandoned hut? That was the night when I first knew that I loved you. I didn't want to let you go. I didn't want you to move from my arms. You were the perfect fit."

"You mean you really do love me?" Margaret asked, almost afraid to hope.

"Oh, Margaret, yes, I love you! I love you more than anything! I love you so much it hurts!" He whispered. "But I never dreamed that you would love me."

Margaret laughed through her tears. "Look at us. We've both loved each other but thought the other one could never love us. What fools we are!"

"Shh," Hawkeye said. "You're not the fool. I am. I waited until you told me that you loved me before I told you how I felt. I should have told you long before now."

Margaret started to say something, but he stopped her with a kiss. When he went to pull away, Margaret wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.

"Margaret," he mumbled. "We need to stop." That just made Margaret deepen the kiss even more.

"Margaret, stop! If we don't stop now, I won't be able to stop. We don't need to do this, not right now."

Margaret finally pulled away. She looked confused.

"It's not that I don't want to go farther, Margaret. Believe me; I would love to continue what we just started. I think we need to think about this first. Look, you stay here on the bed, and I'll go sit over in the chair, okay?'

"Stay," she said softly. "Please."

Hawkeye groaned. "Margaret, don't do this to me. I have to put some distance between us or I'm gonna want to kiss you again. Not hat I don't want to kiss you again," he hurried to add, "but we need to talk right now. Okay?"

Margaret nodded, so Hawkeye stood up and went over to the chair. He sat down, and then hopped back up the next second. He moved the chair next to the bed, and then sat down again. "Look, Margaret, I love you, I really do, but you need to think about this. I'm going blind, Margaret. Do you realize what that means? It means that if we get married, you'll be stuck taking care of me until I die." Hawkeye started to say more, but Margaret put her hand over his lips to stop him.

"I realize exactly what that means, Ben. It means that I will get to take care of you the rest of our life. It means that I'll be able to show you just how much I love you. I won't be stuck taking care of you; I'll get the privilege of taking care of you, of helping you, until we die. I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you, Benjamin Franklin Pierce. And I won't be taking care of you; I'll be spending my life with you, helping you."

Hawkeye had tears streaming down his face. Margaret reached up and gently brushed them away. "I love you, Ben."

"Oh, Margaret," was all Hawkeye was able to choke out before he pulled her into his lap and held her tightly.

Margaret didn't say anything, she just held him, comforted him, and cried with him.

Several minutes passed with neither of them speaking. Finally, Hawkeye spoke up. "Margaret, what did I do to deserve you? How did I get someone as good as you?"

Margaret smiled through her tears. "You were you. You were Hawkeye. You didn't have to do anything."

A knock sounded on Margaret's door, interrupting them. Margaret gave Hawkeye a quick kiss, and then got up to see who it was. When she looked through the peephole, she got a smile on her face. "Ben, come here," she said softly.

Hawkeye got up quickly. Since he was unable to see her smile, he thought something was wrong. "What is it, Margaret? What's wrong?" he asked as he quickly and quietly moved towards the door.

"Nothing's wrong." Margaret said. She threw open the door. Standing in the hallway was Colonel Potter.

"Colonel! What are you doing here?" exclaimed Hawkeye.

"You needn't cal me Colonel anymore, son. Call me Sherman. We're not in the army anymore. I'm here to see you, of course. Well actually, I was planning on seeing Margaret first, but it looks like plans have changed." Colonel Potter looked back and forth between Hawkeye and Margaret. "Did I interrupt something?" he asked. "I can come back later."

"No, no, Colonel, I mean Sherman, you're fine," Margaret and Hawkeye said at the same time. They each looked at the other in surprise and smiled.

"Well, well," said Colonel Potter. "It appears that I misunderstood why I was coming here."

Margaret quickly shot him a look that warned him to be quiet.

Hawkeye saw the look, but didn't let on to Margaret that he had. "So, why exactly did you come here, Col-, I mean Sherman?"

"Well, I thought I was coming just to visit a few old friends. Margaret called me the other day, son. I know that you're going blind. She said that the two of you and Charles were all here in Boston, and seeing as it had been so long, I figured I'd come on out and you all a visit."

Hawkeye didn't believe him, but easily hid that fact from Margaret. "I thought you hated flying," he said.

"I do." Colonel Potter replied. "Just not enough to come see some old friends that I haven't seen for a long time. Especially when one of those friends needs me."

Hawkeye turned to Margaret. "Do you mind if the Colonel and I go talk?" he asked.

Margaret smiled. "No, not at all. We can finish our conversation later." she said. "Go on. I don't mind, I really don't."

Hawkeye gave her a quick smile, and then led the way out of Margaret's room. "Where would you like to talk at, Colonel?"

Colonel Potter started to correct him on the use of his old military title, but just smiled instead. Old habits don't die. "How bout down in the lounge?"

"Sure. Sounds good to me. Would you mind leading the way?" Hawkeye asked, staying where he was when Colonel Potter started moving towards the elevator.

Colonel Potter stopped and came back, taking Hawkeye's arm. "Sure. Sorry about that."

Hawkeye smiled and waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I don't mind. It takes awhile, I know."

As they rode the elevator down, Colonel Potter asked, "So how bad is your vision?"

Hawkeye got a serious look on his face. "It's bad, Colonel. All I can see anymore are very dim and blurry shapes. I can't make out features or details anymore, even if I'm right next to someone. That's on good days like today. Most days I can hardly see at all, and on the worst days, I can't see anything. Everything's black. It's bad, Colonel."

"Forgive me if I'm being too nosy, but does Margaret know how bad it is?"

Hawkeye sighed. "No. She knows that it's very bad, and of course she knows when I can't see at all, but she doesn't really know how bad it is."

"Why haven't you told her?" Colonel Potter stated. By this time, they were sitting in the lounge.

"I don't want her to know. It's hard on her, Colonel. She hates seeing me like this, and I hate that she has to see me like this. If she knew just how bad it was, it would really hurt her."

"Hawkeye-"

"No, Colonel, let me finish. If she knew that it's almost every day now that I can't see anything, it would hurt her."

"Hawkeye-" Colonel Potter tried again.

"I can't bear to see her hurt, Colonel. I just can't."

Colonel Potter tried again. "Hawkeye-"

"Colonel, please. Let-"

"Ben, why didn't you tell me?" Margaret asked, standing only a few feet away, tears streaming down her face. She had been walking by the lounge on her way to go find Charles when she had overheard Hawkeye and Colonel Potter talking. She had inched closer when she had heard what they were talking about. That's why Colonel Potter had kept trying to interrupt Hawkeye. He'd been trying to warn him.

Hawkeye stood up and walked over to Margaret. "I didn't want to see you hurting. I know how much it hurts you every time you realize how bad I'm getting. I can't stand to see you hurt." he said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug.

Margaret surrendered to the comfort of his arms while Colonel Potter sat at the table and looked on in shock. These two were not the same Margaret Houlihan and Hawkeye Pierce that he'd known in Korea. The Margaret Houlihan he knew would never have been willing to let Hawkeye explain, much less let him hold her like that, and the Hawkeye Pierce he knew would have been furious at Margaret for eavesdropping and never would have comforted her like that. Something was obviously different.

"I'm sorry," Hawkeye whispered into Margaret's ear. "I should have told you. I just didn't want to see you hurting. It hurts me to know that you're hurting and I can't do anything about it."

Hawkeye pulled away slightly and led her over to where he and Colonel Potter had been sitting. Hawkeye sat back down, and then gently pulled Margaret into his lap, wrapping his arms back around her when she had sat down.

While all this was going on, Colonel Potter started piecing things together. He had known from the moment those two had arrived back from the abandoned aid station in Korea that they were in love, but he hadn't realized until now that they both now knew they were in love. Now that he realized that, he was able to fit everything together. That explained why Margaret had called him about a reunion for the 4077th. It also gave him some idea of what Hawkeye and Margaret had been talking about when he'd interrupted them with his arrival.

Since the two were obviously oblivious to the fact that there was anyone else in the room, Colonel Potter cleared his throat, causing both Hawkeye and Margaret to startle.

"Sorry, Colonel." Hawkeye apologized, quite obviously flustered.

"No problem, kids. However, I would like to be clued in as to what's happened between the two of you. When we were in Korea, you two couldn't stand the sight of each other. Now, it appears to be quite the opposite."

"Well, it's kind of a long story, but basically what happened is Margaret and I are in love. We have been for some time, actually but neither of us knew that the other was in love until tonight. That's what we were talking about when you knocked on Margaret's door."

"Well, it appears that I showed up at the wrong time. Seeing as it's getting late and all, why don't the three of us turn in for the night? I can finish catching up with you later."

Hawkeye smiled. Colonel Potter's intentions were quite obvious. "Sounds good, Colonel. What room are you staying in?"

"Room 215," replied Colonel Potter.

"Okay. Margaret and I are in rooms 311 and 312. Let us know if you need anything. We'll be up shortly."

"Okay. Sounds good. I'll see you kids in the morning."

"Goodnight, Colonel," Margaret said.

Colonel Potter smiled. "Goodnight, Margaret; Goodnight, Pierce."

"Goodnight, Colonel." Hawkeye replied. However, his attention was not on Colonel Potter, but rather on Margaret.

Colonel Potter chuckled to himself as he rode the elevator up to his room. He remembered what it was like to be young and in love.

Back downstairs, Hawkeye and Margaret started towards the elevator, with Margaret guiding Hawkeye. At nights, when Hawkeye was tired, his vision was at its worst, even on good days.

"I'm sorry, Margaret." Hawkeye said suddenly.

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Margaret asked, surprised.

"I should be the one offering my arm to you, instead of you offering yours. Why would you want someone like me? You could have someone so much better, someone who's not losing his sight. Someone that you could live a wonderful, fun-filled life with."

"I don't want that someone. I want you, Ben. You're the one I love. Sight or no sight. It doesn't matter to me that you can't see. The only thing that matters is that we love each other."

They had arrived at Margaret's room by now. She reached into her pocket and took out the key, unlocking the door. When she had finished, Hawkeye gently removed Margaret's guiding hand from his arm, and took her arm in his hand. He flicked on the light as they entered the room and led Margaret to the bed.

"I love you, Margaret Houlihan," he said softly. "Are you ready to continue our conversation now?" Margaret nodded, so he continued. "I want you to be sure about this. Are you sure that you want to spend the rest of your life with me? It's going to mean a lot of work for you."

"I'm sure, Ben. I want to spend the rest of my life with you no matter what. I don't care how much work it is or how hard it is. It won't be hard if we're together. I need you, Ben."

"I need you, too, Margaret. I need you more that I've needed anyone before, and I need you more now than I ever have before. I want us to spend the rest of our lives together."

"Is that a proposal?" Margaret asked.

Hawkeye smiled and gave her a kiss. "No, it's not. Not yet, anyways. Now get to bed. I'll see you in the morning, beautiful."

After giving Margaret another kiss, Hawkeye got up and went to his own room.

Margaret lay awake for a long time that night, thinking about many things. She thought about what she had found out tonight, about how bad Hawkeye's eyesight really was. It wouldn't be too much longer before he was completely blind. She was glad everyone was arriving for the reunion tomorrow, and could only hope that the next couple of days would be good days for Hawkeye's eyes.


	5. The suprise

A/N: Here's the next chapter! Only one more chapter to go! Enjoy, and please review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the story itself.

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Hawkeye awoke to someone knocking on his door. He knew it wasn't Margaret. In the mornings, she either used her own key, or used the door between their rooms, which was left unlocked during the night.

Hawkeye climbed out of bed. "Coming!" he called. He grabbed his robe off of the chair by his bed and put it on, then turned on the lamp beside his bed. He blinked. Today was a bad day. He could already tell. He could hardly see anything.

Hawkeye shuffled to the door. "Who is it?" he called through the door.

"Room Service," was the reply. Hawkeye frowned. He hadn't ordered room service. "Just a minute!" he called. He then made his way over to the door connecting his room to Margaret's. He knocked on the door to warn her, and then opened it. "Margaret?" he called softly. When he didn't get an answer, he closed the door with a sigh and went back to his own door.

Just as he reached the door, the person knocked again. "Room Service!" came the call once again.

"I didn't order room service," he replied. He frowned. That voice sounded very familiar, but he couldn't place it.

"Is this Hawkeye Pierce?" the person on the other side of the door asked. "If it is, then Miss Houlihan said to tell you that she ordered room service for you."

"Just a minute. Let me unlock the door," said Hawkeye, fumbling with the chain. When he finally got the door unlocked, he opened it. "Come in," he said. "Just set it on the table by the bed."

The person stepped into the room, but didn't do as directed.

"Is something wrong?" Hawkeye asked.

"Don't you recognize an old friend?" the person asked.

Hawkeye stepped closer to the person and flicked on the light in the room. He blinked a few times, the looked at the visitor again. "BJ?" he asked. "What are you doing here?" Hawkeye threw his arms around his friend and laughed.

"I came to see you." Colonel Potter called me and told me that he was coming to visit, so I decided I would, too. Kind of a mini-reunion, you might say."

"I can't believe you're here! What about Peg? Is she here? And Erin, what about her? Did she come?"

"No, they didn't come. Erin's in school now, you know. We couldn't just take her out and leave. Boy, I wish you could meet her, Hawk. She's grown so much! She's in 3rd grade now."

"Erin is in 3rd grade? What happened to that little girl you showed me pictures of over in Korea?"

"She grew up, Hawk. She's growing up so fast. I knew that she'd grow up fast, but I didn't know it'd be this fast."

"Time sure does fly, doesn't it, Beej," Hawkeye said almost wistfully. "You know, there's times when a few months can seem like a thousand years, and there's other times when it can seem like just a few seconds."

BJ knew that Hawkeye wasn't talking about Erin. He was talking about his eyesight. "Talk to me, Hawkeye. How bad is it? I know it's bad. You couldn't even see well enough to recognize me when I first came in."

"It's bad, Beej. It's real bad. Some days it's better than others, but even on the good days I can't make out any details or features. On the worst days, I can't see anything at all. It's all happening so fast, BJ."

BJ was surprised with how oddly at peace his friend seemed with it. "How are you doing with it, Hawk? Are you really as okay with it as you seem?"

"Yes, I really am. I know that must surprise you. It surprises me sometimes. I've changed since Korea, BJ. In more ways than one." Hawkeye added.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough," replied Hawkeye.

Just then Margaret knocked on the door between their rooms, and then opened it. "Hi, BJ." she said, walking over to them.

BJ picked her up and swung her around. "Margaret! You look as beautiful today as you did in Korea. Well, maybe a little more beautiful, considering you're not dressed in olive drab anymore," he joked.

"Thanks, BJ. You look nice, too. I see you kept that cheesy mustache of yours."

"I sure did. I kind of grew attached to it. Peg didn't like it at first, but it grew on her. Erin gets mad at me when I tease her about shaving it off. She said I wouldn't be her daddy if I didn't have my moustache."

Margaret and Hawkeye laughed. "It would seem weird to see you without it," Hawkeye agreed. Ha placed his arm around Margaret. "How about we go join Colonel Potter for breakfast?"

BJ agreed, so the three of them trooped to the elevator and went downstairs to the lounge, where Colonel Potter was waiting.

"Hunnicutt!" Colonel Potter exclaimed when he saw BJ.

"Hello, Colonel," BJ replied, giving him a hug. "You don't realize how much you've missed people until you haven't seen them for awhile. It's good to see you again, Colonel."

"It sure is, Hunnicutt, it sure is."

"Not to break up the reunion or anything, but how about we all go get some breakfast," suggested Margaret, taking Hawkeye's arm and leading him towards the hotel's conference room.

"Where are we going?" Hawkeye asked.

"You'll see," Margaret replied secretively.

When they arrived in front of the conference room, Margaret commanded, "Close your eyes."

When Hawkeye had complied, she signaled for BJ to open the doors. He did so, the helped Margaret lead Hawkeye into the room. "Okay, you can open them now," Margaret said.

Right before Hawkeye opened his eyes, he heard several people shout, "Surprise!" When he opened his eyes, he was shocked. All of his close friends from the 4077th was in the room. Klinger was there, along with Radar, Nurse Kelley, Father Mulchahy, and Sidney. Of course, Colonel Potter, Charles, and Trapper were there as well, along with Nurse Able and several other nurses.

"What are you all doing here?" Hawkeye asked, confused.

Margaret explained. "I knew how much you wanted to see all of your friends from the 4077th before you went completely blind, and I also knew that at the rate your blindness is progressing, there's no way you would be able to do that. Charles got this brilliant idea to bring everyone to you. This way you can still see everyone. I know it's not exactly what you wanted, but it was a good excuse for a reunion." Margaret would have kept rambling on, but Hawkeye stopped her.

"This is more than I could have hoped for. Thank you. When I found out that my blindness was progressing faster than they originally thought it would, I pretty much gave up hope that I'd be able to see everyone. This is more than I could have ever hoped for. This is even better than my original plan. Not only do I get to see everyone, but I get to see them all at the same time. Thank you all so much for coming." Hawkeye fought to keep his emotions under control. He had given up all hope of seeing everyone before he went blind. He never would have imagined something like this happening.

Father Mulchahy was the first to speak after Hawkeye's speech. "We were all so saddened when we heard that you were going blind, Hawkeye. When Margaret called and told me, and then told me of her plan, there was no way I was going to turn this opportunity down. It's been so long since we've all seen each other. I'm just sorry that it had to be under these circumstances."

When Father Mulchahy was done speaking, the reunions began. Most of them had had time to great each other before Hawkeye came down, but some of them, such as Father Mulchahy and Klinger, had gotten there at the last minute.

After a few minutes, a knock sounded at the door and some of the hotel staff entered, bringing the food that Charles had ordered.

Once everyone was busy eating, Hawkeye turned to Margaret. "How long have you been planning this?"

Margaret smiled. "Charles gave me the idea yesterday morning while you and Trapper were talking. I didn't know that everyone would get here this quickly. Yesterday on the phone, most of them told me they wouldn't be able to get here until the afternoon. BJ came to my room right before he went to yours, and he told me that everyone was here already. Evidently, Charles called everyone back after I called them and asked if they could be here by this morning. He planned all of this," Margaret said, motioning to all of the food.

"Hawkeye, what are you going to do now?" Radar asked. When everyone got quiet, Radar realized that he probably shouldn't have asked such a question. "Sorry, Hawkeye. You don't have to answer that," he said, embarrassed.

"That's okay, Radar. I don't mind. In answer to your question, I was thinking about being an eye doctor," Hawkeye joked.

Everyone laughed. When they had gotten quiet again, he said, "Actually, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I'm still thinking about that. I'd like to go back to Crabapple Cove, but there's not a whole lot there. Right now, I'd still like to travel around and visit all of you. I'd love to meet your families."

"How are you going to travel around the country with your vision the way it is?" Sidney asked.

"I'm going to ask someone to travel with me," Hawkeye replied.

"Who is it?" asked Colonel Potter. "Do we know him?"

"Actually, it's not a him. It's a her." Hawkeye stated. "And yes, you know her."

Everyone looked confused. They couldn't think of anyone that they all knew that would be willing to travel with Hawkeye.

"Have you asked her?" Radar wondered.

"As a matter of fact, I haven't."

"Well, why not?" Klinger wanted to know. "Shouldn't you ask her before you just assume that she'll be willing to travel with you?"

"You're right, Klinger. I should ask her. As a matter of fact, I'm going to ask her right now."

Hawkeye got up out of his chair and went around the table to Margaret, who was sitting across from him. When he reached her side, he dropped down on one knee.

"Margaret Houlihan, I love you. Will you travel with me?"

Everyone in the room except for Colonel Potter, BJ, and Trapper, who already knew about the romance going on between Hawkeye and Margaret, started laughing, thinking it was a joke. Hawkeye wanted Margaret to travel with him? The Margaret Houlihan that he always fought with over in Korea? Surely he must be joking. The laughter quickly stopped, however, when Margaret gave her answer.

"Yes, Ben, I will travel with you."

Hawkeye jumped up, pulled Margaret out of her chair, picked her up, and swung her around. "I love you, Margaret Houlihan!" he shouted.

Margaret laughed. "I love you, too, Ben. Now put me down!" she demanded.

Hawkeye obeyed. After Margaret's feet were firmly on the ground again, he gave her a kiss.

By this time, everyone in the room was pretty sure that this wasn't just another one of Hawkeye's jokes. However, only Colonel Potter, BJ, and Sidney had caught on to the fact that Hawkeye wasn't just asking Margaret to travel with him, he was asking her to marry him.

Colonel Potter was the first to speak. "Congratulations, kids. When's the wedding going to be?"

Everyone else finally caught on. "Congratulations, Hawkeye, Major." Klinger said.

Margaret laughed. "We're not in the army anymore, Klinger." she scolded. "You don't have to call me Major now."

"Sorry, Major…I mean Margaret. I guess it's just an old habit." he replied.

"When is the wedding going to be, Hawk?" BJ asked.

Hawkeye thought for a moment, then suggested, "How about right now?"

"Right now?" Margaret exclaimed. "Nothing's ready! I don't have a dress, there's no cake-"

Hawkeye cut her off. "Who cares about any of that? All of our friends are here, and the Father can perform the ceremony. That is, if it's okay with you, Father." he said, turning to Father Mulchahy.

"Of course it's okay with me! There's nothing I'd enjoy more than being able to merry the two of you." he stated.

Hawkeye turned back to Margaret. "See, then? It's all settled. And about the dress, I don't care what you're wearing. You can wear your bathrobe for all I care." Hawkeye's look turned pleading. "Please, Margaret," he said more softly. "I want to marry you now, while I can still see you."

Margaret understood then. He wanted to marry her before he went completely blind. "Okay, Ben. We can get married now. I still wish I at least had a better dress on."

Nurse Able spoke up then. "Maj-, I mean Margaret, we're about the same size. I have a new dress that I bought yesterday evening right after I got here. You can wear it."

"But I couldn't take your clothes!" Margaret exclaimed. 'Especially not something you just bought."

"I don't mind. It'll be my wedding gift to you and Hawkeye. Please, Margaret?"

After a little bit of convincing from Nurse Able and several of the other nurses, Margaret gave in. "Fine, I'll wear it. Thank you."

When Margaret left with the rest if the nurses to go get changed, BJ turned to Hawkeye. "What are you going to do about rings? You haven't had a chance to buy any."

Hawkeye laughed. "Don't worry, I already have them," he said, pulling them out of his pocket and showing them to everyone.

"When did you get those?" Trapper asked.

"They were my parents' wedding rings," Hawkeye said quietly. "Dad and I have the same size of finger, and if I've guessed right, so do Mom and Margaret."

Everyone was quiet for a few minutes before Charles spoke up. "You can't possible get married in those rags," he said. "Don't you have any nicer clothes?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. I have a brand new suit that I bought right before I left Crabapple Cove. I can wear that." Hawkeye said.

"Well, come on, then. Let's hurry up and go get you changed before the girls come back," BJ said.


	6. The Chivaree

A/N: Here's the last chapter! Sorry it's so short, but this seemed like a good place to end it. I hope to do a sequel to it, as well as to my other stories. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as i enjoyed writing it! As always, please read & review!!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the story itself.

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"Do you, Benjamin Franklin Pierce, take Margaret Elizabeth Houlihan to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love her, honor her, and cherish her, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"And do you, Margaret Elizabeth Houlihan, take Benjamin Franklin Pierce to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love him, honor him, and obey him, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Hawkeye didn't waste a second. As the last word was out of Father Mulchahy's mouth, Hawkeye was kissing Margaret, something he had wanted to do as soon as he saw her come back into the conference room after changing. Dressed in a light blue sundress, she had looked absolutely gorgeous on Colonel Potter's arm.

"I love you." he whispered as soon as they broke the kiss.

"I love you too." she whispered back.

Oblivious to all the cheering and congratulations going on around them, Hawkeye pulled Margaret into another kiss. This went on until Colonel Potter cleared his throat a few minutes later, bringing the happy couple back to reality.

"Congratulations, Pierce, Margaret. I never would have guessed that you two would end up being married to each other." Colonel Potter stated.

"I guess this just proves that miracles can happen, Sherman." joked Sidney. Everyone laughed, including Hawkeye and Margaret.

"Well, as much as I hate to break up this party, I think that I'm going to slip away with my bride for a few hours." Hawkeye said.

"No one can blame you there, Pierce. Go on; spend some time with your bride. The rest of us can catch up until you two decide to honor us with your presence," Colonel Potter said.

Hawkeye quickly whisked Margaret out of the room. Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" he asked Margaret as he led her to the elevator.

"Mmm. Yes, but that doesn't mean you can't say it again," she replied, smiling.

"Okay, I will. I love you, Margaret Houlihan."

"Not Houlihan anymore. It's Margaret Pierce now." She reminded him.

He laughed. "You're right. I love you, Margaret Pierce."

"And I love you, Benjamin Pierce."

Hawkeye leaned down and gave Margaret another kiss. "Margaret Pierce. That sounds rather nice, if I don't say so myself. Much better than Margaret Houlihan, if you ask me."

"I agree."

Hawkeye and Margaret had arrived at Hawkeye's room. He slipped his key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. Once inside, he led Margaret over to the bed and sat down on the edge, pulling her onto his lap. "You never told me. When did you fall in love with me?"

"I'm not sure. All I know is that night that we stayed in that abandoned hut, I didn't ever want you to let me go. It was then that I knew I loved you. I don't know when I fell in love with you. It was sometime before then, but I'm not sure when."

"Why did you act like you did when we arrived back at the 4077th?" Hawkeye wanted to know.

"Because I had just been hurt by Donald. I didn't want to be in love with you because I didn't want to be hurt again."

"I would never hurt you, Margaret. I hope you know that."

"I do. I knew that then, but I didn't want to admit it. I wasn't ready to admit it."

Hawkeye placed a kiss on her lips. It was gentle at first, but deepened as it went on. Finally, they broke apart.

"Hawkeye-"

"Shh," he instructed, stopping any further conversation with another kiss, this one even longer and deeper than the last one.

Hawkeye gently laid Margaret down on the bed and then laid down beside her. He was about to kiss her again when a knock sounded on the door. He groaned. "Coming," he called.

Hawkeye got up and went to the door. When he opened it, he saw Colonel Potter, BJ, and the rest of his friends from the 4077th standing outside the door. He was about to ask them what they wanted when they started singing.

__

When you're down and troubled  
And you need some loving care  
And nothing, no nothing, is going right  
Close your eyes and think of me,  
And soon I will be there  
To brighten up even your darkest nights, yeah

You just call out my name,  
And you know where-ever I am  
I'll come running, yeah  
To see you again  
Don't you know that  
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,  
All you got to do is call  
And I'll be there, yes I will  
You've got a friend  
You've got a friend in me.

_

* * *

A/N: The song in this story is "You've Got a Friend in Me" _by James Taylor. Also, I don't know what Margaret's middle name is, so I just made one up for her. I don't think it was mentioned what her middle name was on the show, but i could be wrong. If I am, please let me know. Thanks!


End file.
